WATCH: Romney Thanks Anti-Gay Hate Group ‘For Their Leadership’

Mitt RomneyFriday addressed the Values Voters Summit and thanked Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council “for their leadership.” The Family Research Councilis an anti-gay hate group as certified by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and headed by Perkins. Although invited, Romney declined to attend the Values Voters Summit, a conservative conference sponsored by FRC and the American Family Association, also an anti-gay hate group. Friday, in an unscheduled and surprise move, Romney addressed the annual conference via this pre-recorded video. Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate, attended and spoke at the Values Voters Summit Friday morning.

This move is significant merely because Romney has now drawn a line in the sand and made clearer than ever before that he supports hate — he’s actually now thanked them for it.

The Values Voters Summit is, in fact, a hate group conference. Hosted by the lobbying arm of the anti-gay group, the Family Research Council’s FRCAction, and sponsored by another anti-gay hate group, the American Family Association, along with anti-gay organizations like Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, and Gary Bauer’s American Values, The Heritage Foundation, and Mat Staver’s Liberty Counsel, the Values Voters Summit is truly the nexus of anti-gay, anti-women, anti-Islam, anti-Black hate.

Image, top, screen shot of the Romney address tot he Values Voters Summit. Image, below, official schedule as of today:

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared Friday, without the video, which just became available.